Terra Firma
by Sulky Shadow
Summary: Everyone has their secrets. The best secrets are the ones you never speak of, no matter how much someone wants to know.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. All characters go to their respectful owners. I only own this story.

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**Terra Firma**

There's a reason why Zuko is so good at staying silent.

He thinks Iroh is the first to notice (his uncle notices everything), but he never says anything about it.

Iroh doesn't comment when his nephew is failing all of his bending classes or when he sees Zuko practicing hand-to-hand combat when no one is looking.

Zuko knows Iroh watches him, though; he always knows. The same way he knows that his uncle is secretly impressed with how well an eight-year-old has trained himself.

(At eight, Zuko knows a lot of things that others don't.

Things that he plans to keep secret until the day he dies.)

Azula makes fun of him for barely being able to create a spark. But Zuko never retaliates. He can practically feel the pride coming off of his mother at how mature he acts, but that's not why he does it. Zuko has his reasons.

(They're some of his secrets.)

His father doesn't understand, though. Not that Zuko would expect him to. Ozai is a true Firebender—filled with anger and rage—just like all Firebenders should be. But Zuko is much too calm and levelheaded to be a Firebender.

(Ursa says he is like his uncle, Iroh, but Zuko knows that's not true. He's seen his uncle when he's angry. He's seen the "dragon" for which his uncle has been named. And Zuko knows he's not like that.)

Zuko doesn't spend his mornings meditating to "feel the fire" like Iroh tells him to do. At eight, Zuko is more interested in playing games in the garden with Mai and Ty Lee. His favorite game is hide-and-seek, and they play it almost every day.

Mai accuses Zuko of cheating when they play it because he is able to find them almost immediately. Zuko doesn't cheat (he hates cheaters), but it's not like he can explain how he's gotten so good at knowing where people are. So instead of searching, he has Mai and Ty Lee try and find him.

They never can.

After a while, playing children's games gets boring, so Zuko turns to the town for entertainment. He sneaks out almost every night, and always gets away with it.

After the sun goes down, Zuko stuffs his bed to fool the guards when they go on their nightly rounds and slips out the window that overlooks the courtyard. He hugs the shadows and doesn't kick a pebble as he dashes across the cobblestone ground past the stationed men.

The guards never even pause in their conversation.

Zuko is always back by morning. Not that anyone knows he ever left. His eyes are duller than usual, but Iroh is the only one who gives him more than a passing glance. If he notices anything, he doesn't say a word.

After breakfast, Zuko always returns to his room. Not to sleep, but to practice.

He pulls out the blades that are nearly as long as his arms and swings them around with a skill that isn't all talent. At thirteen, Zuko has the capability to take down grown men. He's only ever shown his fighting skills to Mai.

She tells him to work that hard on his Firebending.

But Zuko doesn't. Instead of spending his free time training his fire, Zuko travels about the city and listens to the gossip. It's always interesting how freely people talk when they think they aren't being watched.

It's through the citizens of the Fire Nation that Zuko hears the rumor. The origin is supposedly from one of the guards up at the palace, who apparently heard Azula muttering about a war meeting where Ozai is going to talk about a key step in winning the war. Zuko's not sure how pure this water is that's trickled down so far, but all he has to do to confirm it is get into the war meeting.

It doesn't take much work to get inside the room.

He expects to be listening to strategies about army formation, but that's not what his father plans to do at all. Zuko's not happy with what he hears, and, for the first time, Zuko speaks up.

Of course Ozai is meant to defend his honor by challenging his son, but Zuko doesn't even bat an eye. The prince of the Fire Nation walking out of a war meeting arouses even more shouts of confusion and shock than the initial outburst does. But Zuko isn't worried, and the guards never find him.

Iroh manages to catch up with his nephew a few miles out of the city. He doesn't ask for an explanation, and Zuko offers none. He doesn't voice his concern about his uncle tailing after him; Iroh wouldn't listen anyway. Zuko thinks his uncle is too stubborn for his own good, but to say so aloud would make him a hypocrite.

The knowledge that he can never return to his home doesn't deter Zuko; he wasn't planning on coming back anyway. He's off to the Earth Kingdom.

Iroh manages to start a teashop after only a three-month wait, faster than most refugees. It's old, abandoned, and it smells like fish, but Zuko knows that his uncle loves it anyway; he can feel it. It's up and running within the next few weeks, and word is beginning to spread of the delicious tea.

(When he isn't helping his uncle with the shop, Zuko often stalks the city's shadows and listens to the praise Iroh receives.

At sixteen, Zuko has mastered the ability to merge with the stone buildings that make up Omashu and listen to gossip. He's also mastered the basics of the Firebending stances, but he's never made a spark to show for it. Iroh has never pushed his nephew, and Zuko is beginning to think that his uncle knows more than he lets on.)

It's after they've been living in Omashu for a year that Zuko hears a name he hasn't heard in over three.

There are rumors that the Avatar is back.

Vibrations from the pounding of feet on cobblestone catch Zuko's attention, and he hears the sound of labored breathing. There are four people running, three jogging at an equal pace behind them.

Zuko doesn't really question the idea of helping the escaping teenagers, and, while the group rounds a corner into a nearby alleyway, he quietly dispatches the guards. The four kids don't return.

It's not until the next week that Zuko meets the four people he helped. They don't know who he is, but Zuko never forgets a face. Iroh recognizes the knowing glint in his nephew's eyes and offers drinks to the group.

(The Earthbender is obviously blind (anyone can see that), and Zuko knows from past experiences that she doesn't need any help finding a table. Iroh receives a swift kick when he makes a move towards her, and Zuko sees the girl smile slightly at the sound of spilt tea.)

Without anyone else in the shop, Iroh decides he and Zuko should sit down and talk with their customers; Zuko isn't given the option to object. Apparently, Toph is showing her friends from the Water Tribe around the city, as it is their first time visiting. Zuko doesn't buy it for an instant. Iroh is much more gullible.

The boy, Aang, seems to notice the Fire Nation symbols on Zuko and Iroh's sleeves—which they use as a costume to match the "Fire Nation" theme of the shop's tea—and he doesn't drop the subject when they claim to have bought them from a nearby clothing merchant. These robes are genuine, he says.

Zuko asks how he knows.

Aang clearly doesn't have an excuse, and he ends up blurting out that he's from the Fire Nation, running from the law. His posse doesn't look pleased at the admission, even though it's a lie; the boy is a terrible liar.

Still, Iroh eats it up. He doesn't even notice the collective flinch from the four when he makes a joke that all they need is an Airbender to complete the group. Nor does he notice Aang guiltily rubbing the bandana around his head. Zuko tucks that information away for later, even though he already knows the answer.

The sky is dark by the time the group leaves. Zuko offers to clean up outside the shop and follows, retaining a few blocks between them.

They're a good mile out of Omashu before he's caught. Toph is a better Earthbender than he anticipates. The boy, Sokka, questions why Toph didn't catch him sooner, but it seems she can't provide an answer. Zuko does his best to not squirm under her scrutinizing glare (even though she isn't really looking at him).

Instead of answering their questions about why he followed them, Zuko strikes back by asking why an Airbender is roaming around Omashu. The group doesn't do much more than balk at his audacity. Everyone but Toph physically reacts.

Toph just shifts. And Zuko is given all of two seconds to avoid the earth beneath his feet caving in. She no doubt meant to trap him for interrogation. Her annoyed expression that he managed to dodge her attack is enough of a reward as any. But now the rest of the group looks suspicious of his actions. They don't understand how he could know that she was going to attack when they, themselves, didn't even know.

Zuko warns the group about a passing patrol, ducks into the shadows, and flees. They'll be back for more information. He knows.

It takes less than a week for them to show up at the shop again. They claim the tea left a lasting impression. They're lying. Zuko knows why they've really come.

(They want to study him. They want to figure out the enigma that is the quiet Fire Nation teenager.)

But Iroh is happy to simply have company on a slow day like this, and he again sits down with the group to talk. Zuko reluctantly joins. He can't gain any more information from simply observing. He'll have to listen in now, too. Maybe Aang will slip up again.

(But Aang doesn't speak. And Sokka simply stares at Zuko and watches his every move. Zuko stares right back and doesn't blink.)

Katara leads the conversation, directing it towards the Fire Nation. She asks why he and Iroh left.

Iroh isn't as bad of a liar as Aang, but he's close. Zuko saves him.

They're wandering souls, he fabricates, unsatisfied staying in one location for too long.

Sokka squints.

Somehow the conversation turns to the Avatar, and—Zuko notes—Aang doesn't look too happy to be sitting in the room anymore.

Twenty minutes later the shop is empty again, and Zuko is observing the group walk away. Toph says something he can't hear, and she jumps out of the way as the ground spikes up beneath her.

Sokka laughs.

Katara scolds.

Zuko understands.

At eighteen, Zuko picks far too many fights, and he almost wins all of them.

The group of teenagers hasn't been seen in Omashu for months now, and Zuko suspects they've moved on to better, livelier places. He knows there's not much to do in the Earth Kingdom's capital. The only interesting activity Zuko has managed to find is battling benders.

The Battle Club is not large, and it's not a very clean place either. (Zuko thinks the whole idea behind the Battle Club is illegal, which is why it's even more hidden than the Black Market around the city.) They call him the Spirit in the Battle Club because he is so swift on his feet, because he fights only with blades, because he is able to take out his opponents without so much as a scratch.

(The only fight he ever loses is to an Earthbender.)

It's after Zuko has been going to the Battle Club for several months that he hears a familiar voice.

Aang says he fights like a Fire Bender. Zuko says he fights like himself.

Aang asks why he's is such a dodgy place. Zuko asks why the Avatar is concerning himself with bending battles. Aang looks surprised at his knowledge and stays silent.

Zuko takes Aang behind the building to talk, and Aang admits that he needs a Firebender teacher. Zuko refuses and tries to leave.

He doesn't expect Aang to be so desperate: the Avatar traps him by encasing his body in stone. Zuko knows he can't escape. Not easily. So he remains silent and listens to the Avatar plead for his assistance. Zuko agrees to shut him up.

Over the next two weeks Zuko demonstrates the basic Firebending stances he has mastered, and constantly relies on when he fights. Aang learns them easily.

But Zuko hits a wall when Aang asks him to bend to demonstrate a move.

Zuko knows he can't.

Aang doesn't agree.

Toph insults his nation in an attempt to lure him out. Zuko stands firm and ignores her. Katara asks why he won't bend for them, if he is afraid or ashamed of his nation. Zuko denies both claims. Sokka gets frustrated.

They bicker and argue in circles for ten minutes before Toph finally hurls a good-sized rock at him. Zuko doesn't turn as he dodges at the last second, and stares at her afterwards until she turns away.

Toph calls out that they're not gaining any knowledge by arguing and leaves. The rest reluctantly follow.

Only ten feet away, Toph stumbles. She ignores the voices asking if she is okay and turns to Aang to blame him for bending the ground. Aang denies her claims. Toph stops speaking mid-rant.

Zuko is inside before she can turn back around.

It's not for many years (two since his father was defeated) that Zuko sees anyone from the group again.

He's sitting in a teashop, secretly listening to the two men behind him and catching up on Omashu's news. A woman's voice catches his attention. She calls him a traitor for drinking somewhere other than his own shop.

Zuko smiles and, without turning, asks what she's doing back in a boring place like Omashu.

Toph claims she's looking for old friends, and that they are difficult to find in this city.

Zuko hears the hidden challenge.

(At twenty-two, Zuko is still playful.)

He challenges Toph to a game of hide-and-seek.

Toph accepts.

Zuko smiles.


End file.
